Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

[Everyday V12]

[Date: December 26, 2020]

-07:05 p.m. [NEW. Kim Sae-Ri] (Urgent) Cherry Blossom year-end concert. 10% of sold-out seats left empty due to scalped tickets. On-site action directed. (Ticket King involved. Cases of "premium tickets" sold at 50 times the original price confirmed.)

'Huh? 10% of the seats will end up being empty?'

Currently, Cherry Blossom's year-end concert tickets ranged from seventy thousand won to a hundred thousand won depending on seat location.

Scalpers typically sold tickets at several times the price we set and unsold tickets were discarded, as they would rather throw away leftover tickets than risk selling them on-site and getting caught.

This year-end concert would have an unprecedented 10% of the tickets discarded. The thought of the confusion caused by empty seats already gives me a headache.

But the bigger issue is the absurd ticket prices. Scalped tickets were often called "premium tickets," or "Plme Tickets" among fans. "Plme Tickets" were typically sold at 5 to 10 times the original price. However, Everyday reported that Cherry Blossom's concert tickets this time were being traded at a 50-fold premium.

'A hundred thousand won ticket sold for five million won? That's ridiculous.'

While this highlighted Cherry Blossom's popularity, it was chilling to think about young fans, driven by devotion, resorting to desperate measures to afford such amounts.

At that moment, I noticed a familiar name in the planner: Ticket King.

Even before my regression, it was the most infamous name among scalpers for having a professional organization. Not only did it have a developer of macro programs for automatic ticket reservations and a retrieval team collecting tickets sent to ghost addresses, they also had a ticket sales team selling collected tickets on platforms like secondhand marketplaces.

Being such a well-organized group, they evaded capture until my regression. I still didn't know the leader's name or gender even after the regression.

However, I knew of one member in their inner circle.

Before my regression, the only arrested member of Ticket King was their macro program developer, Lee Doo-Oh. Despite being sentenced to a long prison term, he didn't expose any of the organization's details.

Just then, Eun Ji-Yoo interrupted my thoughts. "Mr. Jung? Why do you look so serious?"

"Oh, I just have something to check."

I put my phone away and locked eyes with Ticket Park's Team Lead Lee Hwan-Hee, who claimed to have a system to filter out scalpers.

I said, "As far as I know, Ticket Park doesn't have a system to monitor macro programs. Lying from the start... That's a bit disappointing."

Macro programs automated ticket purchasing by moving the mouse cursor on the screen, entering CAPTCHA, and selecting available seats to finalize reservations in seconds. What would take an average person several seconds or more was completed by the program in mere moments, making it impossible for regular buyers to compete.

The issue was that Ticket Park currently had no program to detect macros.

When I pointed out this fact which only the internal staff knew, Lee Hwan-Hee was left visibly flustered. "Ah, well, that is..."

I cut Lee Hwan-Hee off. "That's enough. Please call Ms. Pyo Yeon-Ji."

Director Pyo Yeon-Ji was someone I worked with to pursue scalpers before my regression. I planned to collaborate with her again this time.

"Ms. Pyo Yeon-Ji?"

"I don't partner with dishonest people. If you don't bring in Ms. Pyo Yeon-Ji, I'll head to Ticket Nation instead."

Ticket Nation was the second-largest ticket sales company after Ticket Park. Losing Cherry Blossom, the hottest singer of the year, to Ticket Nation would be a huge blow to Ticket Park.

"W-Wait a moment! I'll bring her right away, so please don't leave!"

Lee Hwan-Hee hurriedly left the meeting room, worried I might actually head to Ticket Nation.

***

When Lee Hwan-Hee returned, he brought Pyo Yeon-Ji with him.

Pyo Yeon-Ji, a highly skilled professional who had earned her director title in her mid thirties, entered wearing a sharp black suit.

Pyo Yeon-Ji extended her hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Jung. I'm Pyo Yeon-Ji."

As our hands met, memories of working with her before the regression came flooding back.

Being a graduate of Sunhwa Women's University with over a century of history, Pyo Yeon-Ji was originally a museum curator. Her reputation led to her being scouted by Ticket Park.

When we worked together before my regression to track down scalpers, she showed extraordinary persistence and truly earned her reputation as relentless. That was why I chose her as my partner to take down Ticket King this time.

I said with a smile, "It's a pleasure, Ms. Pyo. I've heard a lot about you. They say you're a legend from Sunhwa Women's University."

"Oh, come on~ That's ancient history."

She blushed at the mention of her reputation from her early twenties when she was touted as the face of Sunhwa Women's University. After exchanging greetings, we sat down and resumed the earlier conversation.

Pyo Yeon-Ji candidly admitted, "To be honest, we don't really have a monitoring system to detect macros. Instead, we rely on manual work, so it's not like we don't catch anything. Manual detection is a kind of system in a way, isn't it?"

"Thank you for your honesty."

"Thank you for understanding."

Pyo Yeon-Ji smiled faintly, then asked again.

"However, I don't think you called me just to clarify that… Why did you want to meet?"

Only then did I reveal the reason I had summoned her. "There are rumors that scalpers are targeting our Cherry Blossom concert tickets. The ringleader is someone called Ticket King..."

At that moment, Pyo Yeon-Ji ground her teeth in anger as soon as she heard the name. "Ticket King? It's that bastard again?"

Just as I remembered from before the regression, Pyo Yeon-Ji recounted her past experiences of being victimized by Ticket King.

***

Ticket King appeared in early 2019.

Coincidentally, that was around the time Pyo Yeon-Ji transferred to Ticket Park. Pyo Yeon-Ji ground her teeth and confessed that she was hit hard by them right after joining the company.

"Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me furious. I thought the event was sold out, but 30% of the seats were empty!"

"The legendary ZIZAK no-show incident?"

"Yes, that one!"

During the mini-concert of ZIZAK under Ace Entertainment, Ticket King monopolized most of the tickets and resold them at exorbitant prices, causing massive chaos. The financial loss was significant, but the fan club protests nearly paralyzed Ticket Park.

"I almost got fired right after joining the company because of that!"

After venting for a while, Pyo Yeon-Ji took a deep breath to calm herself.

"But it's been quiet since then. Are they back now?"

I replied, "It's not that they went quiet but they've become more organized. The leader stays hidden and uses others to do the dirty work."

Pyo Yeon-Ji tilted her head and asked, "Where did you get that information?"

"I got it from a private information team I know."

After some thought, Pyo Yeon-Ji asked, "So what's your plan? Are you going to report this to the police? In the current situation, the police won't be able to catch them. After all, premium tickets themselves aren't illegal."

Many people didn't realize this, but online scalping wasn't illegal. If caught selling scalped tickets offline, it was considered a minor offense punishable by a two hundred thousand won fine. However, recent legal interpretations have broadened, allowing ticket sites and management companies to prosecute scalpers for obstruction of business.

I explained, "It's now possible to get them arrested with enough evidence."

Pyo Yeon-Ji looked genuinely surprised as if she hadn't known this. "Really?"

At that moment, I glanced at Eun Ji-Yoo and Lee Hwan-Hee in the meeting room. "Um... Could you two step out for a moment and wait outside?"

Eun Ji-Yoo quickly took the hint and nodded. "Of course. I'll step out and grab a drink,"

Lee Hwan-Hee also nodded at Pyo Yeon-Ji's silent signal. "Yes, I'll step out too."

When the two left the meeting room, I turned to Pyo Yeon-Ji. "I'll personally gather evidence on Ticket King."

Before my regression, I worked alongside the police to catch Ticket King, but I was always a step behind for some reason. This time, I decided to move independently and deliberately exclude the police. This was due to my suspicions about potential collusion.

Pyo Yeon-Ji wore a flustered expression and asked again, "Huh? You're going to do it yourself?"

"Yes. In the meantime, I'd like you to calculate the financial damages Ticket Park has suffered. Once I've collected the evidence, you can file a lawsuit with the prosecution."

To stop this before Cherry Blossom's ticketing began, the only viable option was to use Ticket Park's prior losses as grounds for legal action since lawsuits required a victim to proceed.

After some contemplation, Pyo Yeon-Ji nodded. "Understood. Contact me and I'll file the lawsuit with our lawyer right away."

I gave her Seo Jae-Ill's number before standing up. "Alright. I'll gather evidence as quickly as possible and be in touch."

Wary of potential leaks, I provided only minimal information to Pyo Yeon-Ji and left Ticket Park.

Now, it was my turn to act.

***

After explaining the situation to Eun Ji-Yoo and sending her back to the company, I called Lee Soo-Chan. I asked him to look into a programmer named Lee Doo-Oh.

About 30 minutes later after waiting in the parking lot, Lee Soo-Chan called back with information he had obtained through a private investigator.

-There's only one Lee Doo-Oh in Seoul who fits the profile: a twenty-three-year-old with server development experience at a gaming company. I'll send you his address right away.

"And while you're at it, send me Ho-Jae too."

-Okay. Understood.

Lee Doo-Oh was the developer behind Ticket Park's ticket-reserving macro program and the only member of Ticket King's inner circle to have been caught before my regression.

I called Lee Ho-Jae, an expert in lock-picking, just in case.

A short while later, I arrived at an old, shabby two-story house located in Guro.

Lee Ho-Jae had arrived earlier and waved when he saw me. "Hyung-nim, this is the place the investigator pointed out."

The house, clearly over thirty years old, looked neglected. The paint on the walls and door had long since peeled off.

I asked, "Did you bring the stuff I asked for?"

"Yes, it's in my car."

Lee Ho-Jae handed me a delivery worker's uniform, a cap, and two empty boxes. We changed into the delivery uniforms and each carried a box before approaching the gate to Lee Doo-Oh's house.

Trailing behind me in the same outfit, Lee Ho-Jae asked, "But hyung-nim, why are we dressed as delivery workers?"

"Apparently, this guy works from home and orders deliveries often. This is our way in."

Lee Ho-Jae glanced around. "The wall's barely two meters high and there's no security cameras. Can't we just jump it?"

"There might be an automated security system. Let's try this first. And if it doesn't work, we'll jump."

"Got it."

Considering how elusive these guys were, I had to be cautious about every step. Actually, what I was about to do was straight out of a drama scene I once watched.

"Time to put on a show."

Taking a deep breath, I walked to the front door and rang the bell.

Ding dong.

A drowsy voice answered from inside.

-Who is it?

"It's delivery!"

-Huh? But I'm not expecting anything today.

"It's for Mr. Lee Doo-Oh. It's cash on delivery, so could you please open the door?"

-Who sent it?

"It just says CK Foods."

-I wonder what it is.

A hesitant voice came from the intercom, then Lee Doo-Oh answered.

-I've unlock the door. Come in.

Buzz. Click!

'As expected, this is why people need to watch plenty of movies and dramas.'

Afterall, movies and dramas contained solutions to every possible scenario and crime.

Lee Ho-Jae beside me let out a quiet cheer. "Hyung-nim, that was amazing. I can't believe it actually worked."

"Drama writers don't get paid the big bucks for nothing, right?"

"Exactly."

Lee Ho-Jae and I walked into the house with muffled laughter.

***

The clearly neglected yard of the old house was overrun with dried branches and scattered trash. However, the 1.2-meter-wide asphalt path connecting the gate to the front door was perfectly maintained without a single crack.

'Does someone sick live here?'

Before my regression, I remembered Lee Doo-Oh being caught while living like a recluse in a studio apartment in Yeouido. Back then, I hadn't paid much attention to whether he had any family.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Capturing him was the priority.

Knock, knock.

When I knocked on the front door, the sound of slippers dragging on the floor could be heard.

-I'm coming!

Click.

The door opened and Lee Doo-Oh appeared. Standing around 170 cm tall, he had messy hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and wore a tracksuit. He was a completely ordinary-looking man. Unlike the 100-kilogram frame I remembered from before my regression, he was now rail-thin.

As he fished a crumpled wad of cash from his pocket, Lee Doo-Oh spoke nervously, "Um… how much do I owe you?"

I set down the empty box I was holding and grabbed his shoulder. "You're Ticket King's macro programmer, right? Lee Doo-Oh?"

At that moment, Lee Doo-Oh's eyes widened in panic and he let out a short scream as I tightened my grip. "Who… who are you, and how… ahh!"

"I'm a talent agent, you punk! Do you have any idea how many people you've hurt with your schemes?"

But that's when I noticed the pained expression on Lee Doo-Oh's face. I thought he might be faking it, but bruises were visible through his clothing.

'What the...? Has someone been hitting him?'

I quickly let go of Lee Doo-Oh's shoulder and grabbed the fabric of his clothes to examine further.

At that moment, a young girl's voice came from inside the house.

-Oppa! If you've got the package, come help me! My wheelchair's wheel is broken again!

Instantly, Lee Doo-Oh's face turned pale. He grabbed my hand and pleaded desperately. "H-Hyung-nim, please don't say anything to my sister. It's true I work for Ticket King, but she doesn't know anything! I swear, I'm being forced to do this under threat!"

I was dumbfounded.

'Lee Doo-Oh is being threatened by Ticket King…?'